Jeanette Jackson Clark ’70

Judge Jeanette Jackson Clark is currently senior associate judge at the District of Columbia Superior Court where she was appointed to the court in 2002 by President George W. Bush.

Judge Clark was born and raised in Washington, D.C., where she graduated from McKinley High School. After she graduated from Trinity, with a history major, she earned her master’s degree in education from Wheelock College in Boston, and her law degree from Howard University Law School in 1983. She was an associate at Steptoe & Johnson law and practiced  in the civil litigation and general law sections of the Office of the General Counsel of the Washington Metropolitan Area Transit Authority (WMATA). She served for more than two years as special assistant to the WMATA general manager and was deputy general counsel for the D.C. Housing Authority for nearly two years. 

At her investiture as an associate judge in 2002, Trinity President Pat McGuire praised her integrity and fairness: “Judge Clark, our city, nation and world need your witness to justice and equity, to integrity and fairness, in greater measure than ever before. You have always demonstrated those qualities in your life at Trinity, as a student, alumna, class president and trustee. As you put on your judicial robes each day, we pray that you may carry the spirit and ideals of our alma mater with you. May you have the strength to act, always, with courage and compassion, never wavering in your commitment to uphold the law, never hesitating to temper the flame of righteousness with the comforting virtue of forgiveness when the ends of law may be served compassionately.”

“May you have the wisdom to see through the confusion and contention of the daily disputes and great adversities of our frail humanity, leading litigants to effective and peaceful solutions to even their most vexatious demands. May your patience be large, no matter how small the complaint! May your passion for justice be rekindled each day, giving hope to those who have known injustice, courage to those who are afraid to stand up, witness to the ultimate truth of human rights and dignity as the bedrock of freedom, indeed, civilization itself.  Judge Clark, you are now the steward of our laws and lives in freedom. Our rights and fortunes are in good hands, and we wish you every blessing as you take on these profound duties. May the glory and triumph of this moment sustain you through the challenges ahead. And may the lessons of wisdom, intellectual rigor, personal integrity and honor that you cultivated in your Trinity days be your stalwart companions along the way in all of the days to come.”